Miles travel rewards platform raises $12.5M

Miles , a California-based startup that describes itself as a “universal rewards platform for all forms of travel” has raised $12.5 million in Series A funding.

Scrum Ventures led the round, with participation from TransLink Capital, Japan Airlines Innovation Fund, JetBlue Technology Ventures, TechNexus Venture Collaborative, Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance, Synapse Partners and several venture firms and individual investors.

The round brings Miles’ total funding to $20 million since its launch in 2018.

The app allows users to earn miles for all of their travel, whether by car (as a driver, passenger or ride-share), plane, train, subway, bus, boat, bicycle or on foot. More sustainable options such as carpools and ride-shares earn double miles, trains and public transit earn 3x miles and users that bike, walk or run earn 20x miles.

Users receive rewards from Miles’ brand partners, with 350 rewards available from more than 200 brands. New brands joining the platform today include Booking.com, Garmin, Wayfair, Chewy and more. Users can also donate their miles to participating charities, such as Doctors Without Borders, Feeding America and The Pride Foundation.

Using predictive alternative intelligence, the platform enables businesses and brands to offer users relevant, location-based rewards as they are traveling. Miles says it has delivered more than $200 million in revenue to its brand partners.

“Miles is the world’s first frequent‐flyer‐like platform that rewards daily movement, regardless of how or where you travel,” says Miles CEO Jigar Shah.

“Even with travel slowing worldwide during the pandemic, we’ve more than doubled our rewards marketplace, tripled our revenue and dramatically increased adoption. Not only are we seeing a record number of rewards redeemed by our users, we’re also generating increasing revenue for our brand partners – all while incentivizing greener travel.”

The company plans to use the funding for research and development, to expand its marketplace and to grow its team. Since launch, Miles says its users have earned 12 billion miles, redeemed seven million rewards and realized more than $50 million in savings.

“Miles has not only reimagined travel rewards but created a platform where mobility is universally rewarded – all while delivering incredible value to brand partners” said Ryan Mendoza, partner with Scrum Ventures.

"This is evident in the strong user growth and retention, engaged brand partners, and numerous business partnerships. We are very excited about the myriad of opportunities for growth and scale with the company, and how we can support those efforts. We were an early investor in Miles and are thrilled to lead this investment round and join the board. We look forward to working closely with Miles as it continues to execute on its vision to build the world’s first universal rewards platform.”